SCARLET HUNG THE ROMEO costume by one of the doors, examining its initial detail. The sleeves of the white blouse ended in frayed hems. A debonair matte black vest sat on top with glossy buttons. The pants were the same matte black as the vest, cinched at the waist and ankle to give a more scrunched yet flow-y effect.
It looked like every Romeo and Juliet movie had thrown up on Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice. The girls had been excited about the new sample, talking animatedly about it. Rory explained how she wanted to add more details, so the audience could see Romeo's character through the clothes. Melinda disagreed as most of the audience wouldn't really care, but Rory ignored her comment and ranted about what else she would be adding.
Scarlet imagined the costume on Jake, and figured that whatever they chose to do with it wouldn't matter. It was Jake that would give life to that attire.
"Hey, there." Elliot leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. If it weren't for the hint of a smile, he would've looked accusatory, or even mad. Those amber eyes gleamed. "Haven't seen you much these last few days."
She nodded, still touching the sleeves. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. Not because it impacted her and she wanted nothing more than to get out of there with him, but more so because it reminded her of what she had done. A moment she wished she could bury forever.
"Life's been busy," she responded, and let go of the costume sample. Elliot pushed himself off the doorframe as she started walking away.
"Are you avoiding me?" he asked. "I can tell. You can barely look me in the eye."
Scarlet hunched over, rubbing her hands over her cheeks up to her forehead. That was not how she envisioned her Friday night to look like: questioned by the guy she made out with on accident.
"I'm not avoiding you, Elliot," Scarlet said, and pursed her lips. "Life is busy right now and I need to focus. I already got too distracted today."
The green juice box came to mind, prompting her ears to burn.
"Alright, that's fair." He threw his arms up with that crooked grin of his. "I did see that you're getting involved with the enemy." Scarlet frowned until he nodded over to Jake rehearsing lines with Thomas.
"Is he the reason why?" Elliot asked. Scarlet stumbled for words. "It's okay, Scarlet, we had an agreement."
"This is a little weird, Elliot." She winced, not wanting to make him uncomfortable either. "Please, let's forget it ever happened."
Elliot laughed, looking over at the stage where Jake had stopped his performance. Scarlet gazed at the ground when he turned to them.
"No sweat, Turner." He raised an eyebrow. "It's funny that you're actually dipping into the Preppy side," he joked.
Scarlet shook her head, allowing herself to relax her posture. "That school rivalry is stupid, you know?"
She hoped it was stupid. Years of being called a Rodent didn't go unchecked, but Jake was trying to prove that he wasn't like that. And she was willing to believe him unless she got enough evidence otherwise.
Elliot wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and she let out a breathy laugh.
"Maybe it's stupid now when it comes to him." He crossed his arms again, standing up straighter. "You're even more different than I thought, Scarlet Turner. Have fun dancing with the enemy." He threw one last wink at her before walking away, his shoulders tensing as he followed another guy from the sound crew.
She stood behind the black stage curtains. Lindsey whizzed past her, head high, as she got into position in the front corner. Mr. Williams called for action-as if they were filming a movie-and she sauntered deeper into the stage, imitating how Juliet ran away to find Romeo.
YOU ARE READING
Forever Crimson
Teen Fiction"The vultures are disguised as humans." Scarlet Turner has her last semester of high school planned out: graduate as best as she can and take care of her sick mother. But when she's told she won't graduate because of the pile of tardies she's collec...
